Working Hard: School of Management, Jan. 1999

Work smart instead of hard. This was at the heart of Ed Wandtke’s lecture at the 1998 Lawn & Landscape School of Management. His message focused on management styles and how to make a company more efficient while motivating the employees. He also didn’t forget to touch on that important factor of how to profit while applying his ideas in the workplace.

For Wandtke, a green industry consultant with Mollica and Associates, Westerville, Ohio, information comes from his many years in the industry. “You’re profitability is a direct function of your management style. I’ve been in the business for 24 years. I’ve analyzed companies. I’ve watched. I’ve listened. I’ve asked questions. Then I go in and study them some more,” he explained.

MANAGEMENT STYLES. When wanting to lead, the hardest thing to figure out, according to Wandtke, is how not to be addicted to the business. The key is making money while not being busy. Managers try not to be busy by organizing their schedules and making “to do” lists. They end up working on problems that come up throughout the day and interfere with their original schedule, which means nothing on the “to do” list was completed. Wandtke calls these people firemen.

“They watch the fire and wait for the bell to ring. Then they run to that location and solve the problem,” Wandtke said. “My father figured out that as a fireman you’ve got to get the other people to do that. So when it comes down to organization you’ve got to be careful. You better get organized.”

In this quest for organization, it is important not to work long and hard. “If you find you’re working too long maybe you’ve got to find out how to get smarter. That can be through education,” Wandtke noted. “The more you go, the more you learn. The more you read, the more you learn. The more you talk to people, the more you learn.”

As a part of being organized, it is important to set goals for the employees as well. For example, are the workers so organized that they know what is expected of them, or do they only work when management is in the office? It is necessary to get them excited about being at work, which means managers have to know their personalities and know what gets them excited.

“While you were gone, maybe someone brought in coffee and donuts to make the day start up differently. But if someone brought it in when you’re not there, then they already had a different attitude about you being gone,” Wandtke explained.

One of the challenges in overcoming a problem like this is how to get people to think and act differently. It’s important to do things that the employees don’t expect. Do things that are good and positive, and that encourage creativity.

“Maybe you can’t motivate all of the people, but you’ve got to find the ones that you can and put the right motivation in there. Know your people. How well do you know their personality? When you put this all together it spells loyalty,” Wandtke noted.

In addition to motivating, a sign of good leadership is to teach by example. However, problems can occur when a manager spends too much time showing a skill and too little time letting the employees actually do it. “If your employees do a job right but never repeat it, they will have forgotten it,” Wandtke said.

Also, as a leader, getting employees involved is critical to a company’s success. “Get the ideas rolling. Get people contributing. Get them to participate,” he continued. “You know there is never a bad idea. We may not use them all today, but we’ve got to get it on the table so we can consider it.”

CUSTOMER SERVICE. “One of the things people ask me to do is tell them when to diversify. I say never,” Wandtke said.

He explained that even though there may be customers who want more services, if the company isn’t doing the best and highest level of quality in their specific field then diversifying should not be considered.

“If you’re good at one particular type of skill or service, why do you want to get into another one before you’ve absolutely conquered your market in what you’re good at?”

To be able to succeed in that specific market, it is also crucial to understand what the customer wants. “When the customer says, ‘Here is what I need,’ you have to listen, listen, listen. A manager who retains his customers attends to his customers’ needs and communicates,” he added.

When a manager makes a promise to a customer about what their property will look like, those promises need to come true. This is also true for promising that the work will be done under a certain timetable. “Have you gone back to see if you’re really delivering what you promised?” Wandtke asked.

“I have a client who quit her old job and started up a lawn care business. She doesn’t advertise. If you look at her properties, they stand out because someone is always looking at her properties to see what they look like.”

TURNING A PROFIT. According to Wandtke, one of the problems in this business is making money. He finds employees making more than the owner, who has all the risk and probably founded the business, but only pays himself after everyone else.

He defines an entrepreneur as the type of person who discovers at the end of the year they only made $20,000. “You’ve taken all of the risk and all of the employees gain out of this. Then when they see all of the frustration you’re going through they want to leave and they do. They become a competitor. This person who left wants to do one thing well, and that is where they start their business.”

The manager who runs a profitable business is the manager who figured out how to empower his employees to make more money, which thereby allows him or her to make more also,” Wandtke asserted.

The author is Assistant Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.

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